The War Of The Grandpas
by ReganX
Summary: Self-explanatory. A sequel to 'Babysitting'. Complete.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **'Mutant X' and its characters = Not mine. (And I'm not overly happy about that!) Lexi and Izzy = Mine.

**Author's Note: **This story takes place five months after 'Babysitting'.

Words in / / = Thoughts.

**Prologue.**

**_New Years Day._******

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Lexi and Izzy. Happy Birthday to you."

The twins, now at the advanced age of three, clapped their hands at the end of the adult's performance.

"Vewy good." Izzy beamed at them.

"'Cept Other Grandpa." Lexi added. "His singing huwts my ears." She complained, putting her hands over her sensitive feral ears.

Nicholas Fox turned a bright shade of scarlet. Adam beamed at the little girl and the four adult mutants did their best not to burst out laughing.

The bleeping of the computer drew Adam out of the room before he could taunt the older man.

"Lexi, that wasn't a very nice thing to say." Shalimar scolded her daughter gently.

"But it _twue_!" Lexi pointed out, not bothered in the least by her mother's mild rebuke.

"But you shouldn't _say _it." Brennan tried.

"You say to tell twuth." Izzy leaped to her twin's defence. 

"You wan' us to say lie?" Lexi asked, perplexed.

Brennan turned to his wife with a pleading expression on his face, silently begging her to rescue him. Shalimar shrugged, unable to see a way out of his ethical dilemma.

"It's not true, is it?" Nicholas asked, more than a little miffed. "I'm a good singer, aren't I?" He turned to his daughter, whose expression now strongly resembled that of a deer in headlights. "When you were little, you used to like it when I sang to you, didn't you?"

"Guys," Shalimar said a silent prayer of thanksgiving when Adam entered the room with a solemn expression on his face, sparing her the task of answering. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

The four mutants exchanged an unhappy glance. Their thoughts were as one.

_/You've got to be kidding me! /_

* * *

"So, Kane," Nicholas's lip was curled into an unpleasant sneer. "Do you make a point of sending my daughter out on these life-threatening errands of yours during _every_ milestone in her children's lives?"

"For Heaven's sake, man!" Adam exploded. "It's not like I plan these things! I don't control the GSA's activities!"

"Funny how these things almost always seem to be cropping up whenever I'm visiting." Nicholas commented bitterly. "A suspicious man might think that you planned them deliberately to keep my daughter away from me."

"If you bothered to open your eyes you'd see that I would _never _put Shalimar – or any of my team – at risk unnecessarily." Adam snapped. "But of course, that would be too much to expect of _you_." He added dismissively.

Considering that his opponent was probably the most intelligent man alive, Nicholas was at a decided disadvantage in a battle of wits and he knew it.

"You'd think that you'd be happy with stealing my daughter from me." Nicholas said petulantly, returning to his usual grievance. "But do you have to try to alienate my granddaughters' affections as well."

"I don't have to try, _Other _Grandpa." Adam retorted smugly. Although he would never have admitted it in a million years, he rather enjoyed these verbal sparring matches with Nicholas. Although the other man was not Eckhart's intellectual equal by any means, he matched and even exceeded Adam's white haired nemesis in terms of their shared hatred of him.

"You have an unfair advantage." Nicholas might as well have been pouting. "You're here all the time. You spend more time with them than I do. They just know you better, that's all. If they had to choose between us, I'm sure I'd win hands down."

"It's not a contest!" Adam protested.

"Why? Do you think you'll lose? Are you afraid?"

"Of _you_?" Adam laughed. "Izzy has a pink stuffed bunny I find more intimidating than you!"

"That's it!" Nicholas leapt to his feet in rage. "You know what this means, don't you, Kane?"

"I do."

Both men glared at each other, unwilling to be the first to look away.

_/This means **war**! /_

TBC.

I know that it's short but it's just the Prologue. The next chapter will be longer, I promise.

_Next Chapter: Adam and Nicholas don't realize that they have made a fatal mistake by leaving the twins alone._

_Don't be afraid to review._


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **'Mutant X' and its characters = Not mine. (And I'm not overly happy about that!) Lexi and Izzy = Mine.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the reviews, I'll try to keep the updates coming as fast as I can.

Words in / / = Thoughts.

**Chapter 1.__**

**_The same time._**

"Grandpa and Other Grandpa are a'ways fightin'!" Lexi complained, stuffing an impossibly large chunk of birthday cake into her small rosebud mouth and spreading cream and icing all over her face.

"Yes." Izzy nodded emphatically. "Dey vewy silly."

"Why you t'ink dey fight?" Lexi licked each of her chubby fingers carefully, making sure that she didn't miss any of the sugar.

Izzy rested her chin in her cupped hands for a minute, carefully pondering the question. "I t'ink dat Other Grandpa no like Grandpa 'cos Grandpa is more pretty dan him. An' you an' me an' Mommy lib wif Grandpa. Other Grandpa was mean to Mommy w'en she was little." The three year old added indignantly, a scowl on her pretty face. 

"How you know Other Grandpa was mean?" Lexi asked curiously. "He nice now."

"Mommy hab bad dweam las' week. I saw it." Izzy explained, before continuing to expand on her theory. "Grandpa was nice to Mommy w'en she was little so she like him more. Dat why Other Grandpa no like Grandpa. He jeawous!"

Lexi nodded, accepting the logic in her sister's argument. "But why Grandpa no like Other Grandpa?" She asked, not entirely satisfied with Izzy's explanation. 

Izzy shrugged. "Maybe 'cos he smell funny."

"Yes." Lexi assented, nodding sagely. "An' he sing bad."

Izzy sighed. "Me no like dem fighting. An' Mommy no like it eivver. Mommy wan' dem to stop. We hafta make dem stop."

Lexi sighed, as if weighed down by all the cares and woes of the world. "it not faiw!" She complained. "We hafta do _ev'ry't'ing _'round hewe!"

* * *

"Grandpa?" 

The timely arrival of the twins halted the hostilities between their grandfathers before they resorted to fisticuffs.

"What can I do for you, Izzy?" Nicholas smiled down at the little girl, who stuck her tongue out at him and kicked him in the shins.

"Me Lexi!"

Rubbing his injured shin, Nicholas glared down at his granddaughter. "Why you little . . .!"

"The girls are a little sensitive about their names. They don't like being mixed up." Adam, who could barely suppress the laughter burbling inside him, informed the other man. "You'd think that after three years, you'd be able to tell them apart by now." He added insultingly.

Ignoring him, Nicholas continued to glare at Lexi. "That was a very nasty thing to do, Lexi." He scolded. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not nice to kick?"

Lexi just smiled, not bothered in the least. "It funny." 

Adam couldn't control himself any longer. He burst out laughing.

"See." The toddler pointed at him. "Grandpa t'ink it funny."

Nicholas, clinging desperately to the tattered remains of what had once been his dignity, drew himself to his full height and tried to look as intimidating as possible. "If your mother had behaved like that when she was a little girl, I would have put her over my knee. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Lexi asked, mildly curious and not frightened in the least.

"To give her a spanking." Nicholas tried to sound as ominous and impressive as possible. Needless to say, he failed miserably.

"What dat?" Izzy's curiosity was piqued by the unfamiliar term.

Adam leaned forward and explained it to them in a hushed voice.

Identical expressions of outrage appeared on their small faces.

Before anyone could stop her, Izzy charged forward and landed a solid kick to her biological grandfather's left shin.

"Dat mean!"

Before poor Nicholas had recovered, Lexi followed her twin's example and took out his right shin, leaving him to fall with a heavy thud.

"Why I oughta . . ."

"'f you twy to 'pank us, we shock." Lexi threatened, a glowing blue ball of electricity forming in her small hand.

"Yeah." Izzy formed her own ball of electricity and waved it threateningly in Nicholas's direction. "An' Mommy an' Daddy will till you w'en dey get home."

Knowing that this was probably true and more than a little unnerved by the sight of his three year old granddaughters wielding their potentially lethal energy balls, Nicholas gave up the argument and turned to Adam, whose sides were splitting with laughter, with a glare.

"You know, you're not helping here."

"I know." Adam responded cheerfully. "And I have no intention of doing so."

"I think that you're enjoying this!" Nicholas said accusingly.

Adam feigned shock. "No!" His voice was heavily laced with sarcasm. "What tipped you off?"

"Grandpa?" Izzy interrupted before they had a chance to throttle each other.

"Yes, Izzy?"

"Tan Lexi an' me hab some tandy?"

"No." Nicholas cut in before Adam could answer. "Naughty little girls who kick their grandfather don't get candy."

"Izzy no as' you." Lexi told him impertinently, making a face at him and then dismissing him with a wave. "An' you not Grandpa, you _Other _Grandpa. So," She turned to Adam with an expectant smile. "Tan me an' Izzy hab tandy?"

Unable to resist the temptation to make the other man out to be the 'bad guy', Adam nodded. 

"Come on." He scooped the twins up, one in each arm and carried them out of the room. "Let's see what we can find in the kitchen."

As soon as they turned to leave the room, the twins simultaneously stuck their tongues out at a less than amused Nicholas who made a mental note to give his daughter and her husband what he considered to be a long overdue lecture on the proper ways to raise small children.

_/They have spoilt those little hellions rotten! If they don't start to teach them some manners now, they'll have finished us all off by their tenth birthday! /_

* * *

_Ten minutes later._

The Fox-Mulwray sisters sat in their playroom, happily gorging themselves on candy and giggling every time they thought of the expression on 'Other Grandpa's face when they had stuck their tongues out and threatened to shock him.

"Other Grandpa fun to make mad." Lexi pronounced, downing a handful of jelly babies. "He face go all red."

"Yeah." Izzy was more than satisfied with the results of the first phase of her plan. "An' he make a funny noise."

"He near'y much fun as Uncie Jess." Lexi concluded, liberating another handful of sweets from the large bag Adam had given them. She offered them to her sister. "Wan' some?" Izzy shook her head. Lexi crammed the sweets into her mouth. "So, what we doin' now?" Her eyes glittered in anticipation. "Tan we pway wif' dem some mowe?"

"Yes." Izzy assented, nodding solemnly, a slow blooming smile spreading across her angelic face. "We tan."

Their heads together, the twins plotted the next stage of their plan to torment their unsuspecting grandfathers.

TBC.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **'Mutant X' and it's characters = Not mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray = Mine.

Words in / / = Thoughts****

**Chapter 2.**

They had been sitting in the rec room in a less than comfortable silence for a few minutes before Nicholas, after carefully weighing the merits of breaking his self imposed 'silent treatment' pact against the thought of allowing his outrage to go unvoiced, deigned to speak to the other man.

"You know, Kane, you could have backed me up!" Much to his dismay, far from sounding strong and confident, Nicholas ended up sounding like a whining five year old.

Adam didn't even bother to try to hide his smile. "Why would I want to do something like that? Besides," Adam must have been taking 'wide-eyed and innocent expression' lessons from either Shalimar, Emma or the twins, all masters of the art. "I didn't think that you'd appreciate my help, after all, you haven't made a secret of your dislike for me. I didn't think that you'd _want _my help."

"Very funny, Kane!" Nicholas snapped, completely missing the point as usual. "You lot have my granddaughters spoilt rotten! Is there nobody in this place capable of exerting _any _influence on them?"

"Shalimar never has any trouble getting them to do as they're told. And they're usually good for the rest of us." Adam didn't mind stretching the truth a little to annoy the other man. "In fact," He gave the other man a malicious look. "_You're _the only one they don't listen to. I guess that they don't like you very much. I can't say that I blame them."

Nicholas balled his fists in fury. "That's your fault!"

"_My _fault?" Adam scoffed. "You just told them that you used to hit their mother and threatened to hit them! How is that _my _fault? Let me give you a quick tip, Nicholas – three year olds usually _don't _respond well to that sort of thing!"

True to form, Nicholas completely ignored the logic in Adam's argument. "You even rewarded them for attacking me!"

"Don't be melodramatic, Nicholas." Adam sighed wearily. The older man was getting on his last nerve. "Nobody 'attacked' you." 

"Oh yeah?" Nicholas rolled down his sock, revealing a nicely reddened and rapidly bruising ankle. "What do you call this?"

"Oh, you poor thing!" Adam's tone brought sarcasm to a whole new level. "Have you been crippled for life? Do you think that you'll live? Who do you think they'll get to play you in the movie?"

Flushing angrily, Nicholas covered his ankle and glared at Adam. "I never tolerated this crap from Shalimar, I'll be damned if I'm going to take it from the girls!"

All traces of humour left Adam's face, replaced by a cold anger.

"I sincerely hope" His tone was icy. "That you don't intend to treat Lexi and Izzy the way you treated Shalimar. Because if I thought for one second that you would ever so much as _think _about hurting them in _any _way, I would not hesitate to kill you. And believe me, Nicholas, I would have to stand in line to do it."

Although Nicholas would rather have died than admit it, Adam's intensity frightened him.

"I still think that those kids need firmer handling." Nicholas reiterated, as soon as he had recovered his powers of speech.

"Thank you, but I don't think that anyone in Sanctuary needs or wants advice on childrearing from a man who threw his ten year old daughter into a psychiatric institution." Adam responded dryly. "Lexi and Izzy are both happy, healthy little girls who are surrounded by people who love them. They may get into mischief on occasion . . ."

"Try constantly!" Nicholas interrupted.

". . . But it is never intended to be malicious." Adam continued, ignoring the interruption. "As far as I'm concerned, Shalimar and Brennan, and to a lesser extent, Jesse, Emma and I, are doing a wonderful job of raising them. I doubt that you could do better."

"Wanna bet?" Nicholas had no idea how childish he sounded and probably wouldn't have cared if he had known. "Anything you can do, I can do better! Let me watch over them for a couple of hours, I'll prove it."

It was on the tip of Adam's tongue to refuse but some devilish impulse made him nod his head.

"Alright." He smiled, surprising the other man with his compliance. "If you need me . . ."

"I won't."

"I'll be in the lab.' Adam finished, standing up and exiting the rec room.

If any of the Mutant X team had seen the smirk on Adam's face, they would have known at once that he was planning something but Nicholas was blissfully unaware of any ulterior motive the other man might have had.

/Let's see how well Nicholas 'I'm such a wonderful father' Fox handles Lexi and Izzy after they've consumed their body weight in sugar! /

* * *

"Girls?"

The twins looked up with a smile when their 'Other Grandpa' entered the room.

"Hiya, Other Grandpa." They chorused sweetly.

Nicholas smiled back, relieved. /This isn't so bad. /

Ten seconds later, a pair of excited, sticky three year olds were trying to climb up his legs, leaving sugary hand and fingerprint on his neatly pressed slacks.

"Tan we pway tea par'y?"

"Tan we pway make up?"

"Tan we go to par'?"

"Tan we tut yo' haiw?"

"Tan we pway howsie?"

"Tan we pwat wif' hol'dams on the dodo like Mommy?"

"Tan we pway 'Shock'?"

"Tan we hab mowe tandy?"

The two little girls danced around their grandfather, calling out their suggestions, which ranged from reasonable to absurd, so fast that they barely had time to draw breath between ideas.

Poor Nicholas was starting to get dizzy.

Taking advantage of his disorientation, Lexi slipped her hand into his pocket to see what she could find.

Her grandfather's eyes widened in horror when he saw what she was holding.

"Go' yo' walle'!" Lexi taunted, tearing out of the room, followed closely by a squealing Izzy.

"Come back here!" Nicholas raced out of the room in time to see the twins take off in opposite directions.

/So which of them has my wallet? /

After a few seconds of deliberation, Nicholas raced off to the right, praying that he would be able to catch up to whichever twin had it before she decided to throw it into the pond or flush it down the toilet. 

He briefly considered asking Adam for help but his pride wouldn't allow it.

/I don't care how bad it is, I will **never** sink so low as to ask that man to rescue me! /

* * *

"Adam?" Shalimar's voice filtered through Adam's comring. "Are you there?"

"I'm here, Shalimar. Is anything wrong?"

"There have been a few . . .complications with this missions. Not GSA related." She added hastily, not wanting to worry him. "But it'll take longer than we thought. We probably won't be back until late tonight. Can you and my dad handle the twins till then?"

"Of course." Adam said reassuringly. "Your father is with the twins right now."

"Is he still alive?" Shalimar asked dubiously.

"Don't worry." Adam quickly covered his ring to block out the sound of Nicholas's angry shouts as he chased after one of the twins. He waited until the sounds had died away before speaking again. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Okay." Shalimar still had her doubts, but there was nothing she could do about it. "See you tonight."

"Good luck." Adam cut off the communication.

He smiled.

The sounds of Nicholas's struggles were music to his ears.

/This should teach him not to insult my parenting techniques! /

TBC.

I love Evil Adam. He's so much fun to write! I'll update as soon as I decide the appropriate fate for Nicholas's wallet.

Suggestions for twin pranks/activities are, as always, very welcome.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **'Mutant X' and it's characters = Not mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray = Mine.

Author's Note: I am _so _sorry that it's taken me so long to update, I don't think that I've ever been this disorganized. I promise to try to do better for the next update. 

Words in / / = Thoughts****

**Chapter 3.**

Half an hour later.

The twins hadn't had as much fun in a long time – not since their last organized prank two days ago, at any rate.

Thanks to their feral abilities they were not only able to outrun their biological grandfather but they also possessed superior stamina, meaning that he was left exhausted before they were even breathing hard.

To add to poor Nicholas's confusion, Lexi and Izzy made a point of meeting up every now and again to exchange possession of the wallet.

"Hewe." Izzy, the wallet's current guardian, passed it into her sister's custody. "Yo' turn."

""t'anks." Lexi stuffed it into the back pocket of her jeans. Nicholas was trailing a good distance behind them so the twins had a minute or two to talk. "Other Grandpa no gib up, do he?" The three year old's tone was one of grudging admiration.

"He s'pose to go an' as' Grandpa fo' help!" Izzy complained, her hands on her hips. "He s'pose to star' bein; nithe to Grandpa!"

Lexi shrugged. "Why you t'ink he not?"

Izzy considered the question carefully, a thoughtful expression on her small face. "Maybe we no bein' bad 'nuff." She pondered aloud.

Lexi's eyes lit up with a fiendish glow. "We be eben badder?" She smiled in anticipation, not at all put off by the idea.

Izzy nodded solemnly. "I t'ink we hafta."

"How?"

Before Izzy could come up with a new strategy for mischief, Nicholas's shouts, alternating between angry and pleading, reached their ears and, a few seconds later, he came into view.

As soon as Nicholas saw his granddaughters, he charged towards them, pleading with them to stop.

"Girls, please! Give me back my wallet and I'll . . . I'll . . ."

Lexi and Izzy paused, mildly interested in hearing what kind of proposal he was going to make.

"I'll give you a dollar . . .each." Nicholas said finally, embarrassed at being forced to resort to bribery.

The two little girls promptly dissolved into gales of gleeful laughter.

"How?" Lexi gave him a cheeky, endearing smile. "We hab yo' walle'!"

The two tiny ferals took off in opposite directions and Nicholas, still unwilling to humble his pride by asking Adam to help him, chased after them, even though he knew in his heart that he had two chances of catching up to them – slim and none.

* * *

Ten minutes later.

After an exhausting – not to mention fruitless – chase, Nicholas Fox finally gave up and collapsed on the sofa in the rec room, his breathing rapid and his face red from the exertion.

_/I was too hard on Shalimar when she was small! / _He thought ruefully, mopping the sweat from his brow. _/Compared to Lexi and Izzy, she was a little angel! / _He paused in his reflections, thinking back on the havoc his only child had managed to wreak during her toddler years. _/Well . . . maybe not an **angel, **but at least there was only** one **of her! /_

He had been lying on the couch, completely devoid of energy and virtually incapable of moving, for about five minutes when the twins came into the rec room, hand in hand, and trotted over to him, smiling sweetly.

"Hewe yo' walle', Other Grandpa." Izzy held it out to him.

Nicholas couldn't help smiling in relief, delighted that the chase was finally over. However, once his initial joy had faded, he quickly replaced his smile with a frown and schooled his features into a stern expression.

"That was a very bad thing to do, girls." He scolded. "It's not nice to take other people's things without asking them first." He fixed them with a stony glare that had never failed in its quelling powers where his own daughter was concerned. "I hope that you're both sorry!"

"Nope." Lexi responded cheerfully, not affected in the least by his glare. "We no sorry."

"We jus' bowed wif walle'." Izzy added. "So we gib it back."

Nicholas sighed. _/I suppose that I should be thankful for small favours. /_

He was anything but thankful thirty seconds later when he opened the wallet to inventory its contents.

"It's empty!"

Lexi giggled manically. "We hidded yo' dollaws!" She told him gleefully. "You hafta go look!"

"Where?" His supply of patience was fast wearing thin.

"We no tellin'." Lexi said firmly.

"Yeah." Izzy added. "We pwayin' hide an' see' wif you!"

Nicholas groaned aloud.__

_/Forget it, there wasn't much in it anyway, and it's not like I need the money. /_

"I don't think I'll bother, girls." He said aloud.

The twins exchanged a worried expression; this was _not _how they had planned it.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"GO LOOK!"

As soon as the command was spoken, Nicholas obediently rose and marched out of the rec room in search of the missing money.

"Dewe." Lexi was more than satisfied with the results of her handiwork. "Dat's bettew. Now we tan be badder wif Other Grandpa gone bye-bye. An' I hab a idee."

Izzy leaned closer, her eyes sparkling with excitement, ready to hear her sister's master plan.

* * *

Five minutes later.

"Nicholas?" It had taken a few minutes for Adam's curiosity to overcome his dislike for the other man enough to ask the question. "What on earth are you doing up there?"

Nicholas looked up from his task of searching the dojo, a rather blank expression on his face. "I'm looking for money."

"You know, we usually don't keep it there." Adam said, his tone a mixture of sarcasm and condescension. "You see, there are these marvellous places called 'banks' . . ."

"I have to look for my money." Nicholas's tone was rather robotic.

"Why?" Adam asked, still in the same sarcastic/condescending tone.

"They said to."

Adam grinned. "Oh, I see." He climbed the stairs to the dojo and pulled the other man into a standing position. "I'm sorry to have to . . .oh, who am I kidding!"

WHACK!

Adam's palm cracked across the other man's face, jolting him back to awareness.

"What the . . .Where . . .How . . ." Nicholas's disorientation gave way to anger. "You hit me!"

Adam just laughed. "Welcome back."

"What happened?"

"Lexi or Izzy. Probably both of them, judging by the power of their influence. Their power is stronger if they combine it." He explained.

"What power?"

"Mental domination." Adam supplemented. "You, my dear man, were a zombie!"

"Those little monsters!" Nicholas growled. "I have half a mind to . . ." He exhaled in frustration. "You know, Kane, you could have given me a heads up about that particular little trick of theirs!"

"What would be the fun of that?" Adam asked sweetly. "Besides," He added mock-righteously. "As their grandfather, surely you ought to know everything about them. Anyway," He smirked. "Whatever happened to you being able to handle them?" He looked around, worried. "Nicholas?" His tone held an edge of warning. "Where are the girls?"

"In the rec room. I think." Nicholas was doubtful. "It's alright. I've only been here a couple of minutes. They haven't had time to get into trouble."

Adam gave him a half disbelieving, half pitying look. "If you knew anything about Lexi and Izzy you'd know that it only takes a couple of _seconds _for them to get into trouble! You never leave those two alone! Come on!" He ran towards the rec room, motioning fo the other man to follow him. "We'll be lucky if they haven't blown anything up!"

* * *

The usually pristine kitchen of Sanctuary had been transformed into a scene of total and utter devastation.

Childproof locks were no match for the Fox-Mulwray twins and chairs and tables granted them access to even the highest of the cupboards.

Lexi and Izzy, coated from head to toe in flour, were standing amid the remains of at least a dozen broken eggs, a bag of flour and a pint or so of spilt milk, happily stirring the ingredients, some unrecognisable, in a mixing bowl so large that either child could have sat in it comfortably.

They looked up with as their grandfathers entered the room, identical expressions of innocence on their faces. 

"W'at?"

TBC.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **As far as ownership is concerned, nothing has changed since my last update. 'Mutant X' and it's characters = Not mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray = Mine.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews. I haven't decided how long I'm going to keep the Mutant X team away on their mission. If anyone wants Adam and Nicholas to have to take care of the twins overnight, please let me know. And please tell me who you want the twins to torture; Adam, Nicholas or both.

Words in / / = Thoughts.

**Chapter 4.**

Nicholas Fox looked as if he was ready to have a heart attack.

Adam couldn't have been more amused.

"You think this is funny, do you, Kane?" Nicholas barked, catching sight of the grin on the other man's face.

"Yes, I do find it quite entertaining, as a matter of fact." Adam responded dryly. "So this is how to keep small children under control is it?" he snorted in derision. "If this is your definition of good parenting, then it's a wonder Shalimar didn't manage to drown or electrocute herself or something when she was small!"

"Look at the mess they made!" Nicholas gestured towards the slimy, gloopy puddle of ingredients at the twins' feet.

Adam surveyed it calmly. "Yes, you're going to have fun cleaning that up, aren't you?"

"What the . . .? Me? I . . ." Nicholas's face turned beet red with rage. "I'm not cleaning this up!"

"Well, you _were_ in charge." Adam pointed out reasonably. "By rights, cleaning up after them is your job. Unless, of course, you want to explain to Shalimar and Brennan exactly how their daughters managed to get into this mess. Trust me, they won't be amused."

"An' me an' Izzy'll tell Mommy an' Daddy dat you say you 'pank us." Lexi piped up helpfully, taking Adam's side. The idea of blackmailing her biological grandfather was causing her no qualms of conscience whatsoever. It was a shame that she and her sister were trying to get their grandfathers to be friends, Lexi reflected mournfully, playing the two men against each other was so much fun!

"'Fore Other Grandpa clean up, Lexi an' me have s'prise fo' you." Izzy announced. "We gwine to hab takes fo' teatime!" 

Working briskly, Izzy scooped out handfuls of the gooey dough, rolled them into balls and arranged them carefully on the plate her sister had already sprinkled with sugar.

"Dewe." She wiped her hands on her jeans, completely satisfied with her handiwork. "Now takes will be weady fo' af'r naptime. You can clean kit'en when Lexi an' me hab nap." She added generously, beaming up at Nicholas.

Only the thought of what his daughter and son in law would say – and do – to him if their three year old daughters were to take up cursing stopped Nicholas from bellowing every expletive he had ever heard.

"Before you two take your naps, I think a bath is in order." Adam interrupted, not wanting the twins to climb into their neatly made beds covered in flour, eggs and milk. "Come on." He caught the little girls by the hands. "Lets get you cleaned up." He turned to look at Nicholas as they left the kitchen. "You'll find the cleaning materials in the press under the sink." He grinned maliciously. "Have fun. Oh, and before I forget to tell you," He smiled in anticipation before making his final thrust. "Shalimar called. She and the others won't be back until later tonight. We'll be alone with the twins until then."

_/Oh f***! /_  

* * *

_An hour and a half later._

Their energy levels enhanced – not that they needed it – by their bath and their afternoon nap, the Fox-Mulwray twins were back to work once again, plotting to restore harmony to their family unit.

"At firs' I t'oght dat it was jus' Other Grandpa who was bein' bad," Izzy mused. "Bu' now Grandpa bein' mean to."

"He no as mean to Other Grandpa as Other Grandpa mean to him." Lexi objected, leaping to the absent Adam's defense. 

"But he no bein' _nice _to Other Grandpa." Izzy pointed out. "Dey bofe hafta be nice."

"How we make dem be nice? Do we gib dem date, like An' Emma an' Uncie Jess?" Lexi asked, remembering the success of that particular project. "I don' t'ink dat Grandpa wants to tiss Other Grandpa."

No." Izzy agreed sagely. "Dey no need date. Dey jus' need to be fwiends."

"Maybe we no gib dem date, but we gib dem tea party 'stead." Lexi suggested. "I make dem nice cup tea an' you give dem yo' takes an' dey hafta eat dem toge'der."

Izzy smiled, nodding her approval. "Yeah. We do dat. An' I hab oder idee . . ."

* * *

_Five minutes later._

"Girls, what are you doing?" Nicholas, just finished up his cleaning duties, looked up to see the twins standing in the doorway of the kitchen, matching expressions of determination on their small faces.

"Tum hewe, Other Grandpa." Lexi beckoned, an intimidating smile on her face.

"Uh, I'd really rather not." Nicholas, more freaked out than he would care to admit by the toddler's malevolent grin, tried to back away, nearly tripping over Izzy, who moved behind him, cutting off his path of escape.

"You can't run 'way, Other Grandpa." Izzy informed him solemnly, crossing her arms. "Now sit down."

"No way!" For the first time in his life, Nicholas Fox wished for his daughter's mutancy, knowing that only her abilities would have allowed him to escape the clutches of his three year old granddaughters.

"SIT DOWN!"

He sat.

* * *

From his lab, Adam could hear Nicholas pleading with the twins to stop whatever torture they were inflicting on him.

It was music to his ears.

_/I just hope they don't kill him, though. / _Adam mused. _/I don't have anywhere to hide the body! /_

* * *

_Twenty minutes later._

"Grandpa?" Lexi poked her head into the lab. 

Adam looked up from his work with a smile. "What is it, sweetheart?"

She walked over to him, holding up her arms.

Adam lifted her up and sat her down on his lap. "What can I do for you, Miss Fox-Mulwray?" He asked in a gravely playful tone.

"I wanna 'vite you to me an' Izzy's tea par'y." She told him solemnly.       

"I don't know . . ."

Lexi caught the doubtful note in his tone and brought out her trump card.

"Other Grandpa mean an' smelly." She complained, plumping her lower lip in an adorable pout. "He neber play wif us. He no wan' to come to tea par'y. He not as nice as you." She finished, smiling sweetly, knowing that he would never be able to resist showing up Nicholas.

"I'll be there."

* * *__

Lexi made a great show of adjusting the cushions on Adam's chair and making sure that he had enough milk and sugar in his 'tea'.

Privately, Adam didn't think that there was enough sugar in the world to offset the appalling taste of Lexi's tea – which consisted of a teabag steeped in cold water and whatever other liquids the little girl could get her hands on – but he would never have hurt her feelings by saying so.

He waited until she had left the room before tipping the contents of his cup back into the small plastic teapot.

A minute later, the twins appeared at the door, dragging a very reluctant Nicholas.

Adam took one look at the other man and burst out laughing.

Nicholas's face was heavily made up, with scarlet clown lips, pink cheeks and lime green eye shadow. The twins had obviously purloined their dress up box and poor Nicholas, in addition to wearing an old flowered housedress of unknown origin, also sported the 'Kiss The Cook' apron Jesse had bought Brennan for his birthday, a long string of fake pearls and elegant evening gloves. The whole absurd ensemble was topped with a wide brimmed floppy straw hat, adorned with every ribbon and hair slide that the girls possessed. 

Nicholas turned to Adam with a pleading look. "Kill me, please!"

_/What I wouldn't give for Jesse's camcorder! / _Adam thought gleefully. _/Or for Shalimar to see this! /_

"Oh, you fin'sh yo' tea, Grandpa?" Ignoring his protests, Lexi refilled his cup and added four lumps of sugar. "Don' wowwy, dewe's lots lef' if you wan' more." She assured him.

Adam nodded, forcing himself to smile. "Thanks."

"What's this all about, girls?" His ridiculous outfit had not improved Nicholas's temper in the slightest. 

The two toddlers exchanged a meaningful look.

"You an' Grandpa a'ways bein' mean to each other." Lexi, who had decided to take the lead, scolded. "Me an' Izzy sick of it an' Mommy sick of it too. You hafta be fwiends. No mowe figh'in'! Now, sit down an' hab yo' tea toge'der. An' be nice."

"Lexi, sometimes grownups don't get along. . ." Adam tried to explain.

"I'm not having tea with _him_!" Nicholas tried to rise.

Izzy glared at him. "Sit Down!"

He sat down obediently, still glaring at Adam. 

The twins exchanged an exasperated look.

"Okay." Lexi had reached the end of her tether. "If you no gonna be nice. . ." She caught her sister's eye.

"We gonna _make _you!" The twins chorused.

/Uh oh. / 

TBC.

Show of hands, who wants Adam and Nicholas to hash out their differences at some point in the story, or should the twins continue with their 'team-building' exercises? Any ideas for activities/torture will be welcomed.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **As always, 'Mutant X' and its amazing cast of characters = Not mine. Alexis and Isabelle Fox-Mulwray = Mine.

**Author's Note I: **Sorry for the delay in updating, classes have been keeping me fairly busy and this chapter has taken longer to write than most.

**Author's Note II: **Regarding Shadowcat Pryde's suggestion of having Jesse and Emma have a child or five, I was planning on marrying them off in the next instalment of the series - starring Lexi and Izzy as flower girls, of course - and am considering adding a new child into the mix. Would a new child deflect too much attention from the twins or should I give Lexi and Izzy a tiny molecular lackey to instruct in the noble art of creating havoc? Sadly, I don't think that I'd be able to get away with quints, although the look on Jesse's face _would _be priceless. Please let me know your opinions on the subject.

Words in / / = Thoughts****

**Chapter 5. **

_Ten minutes later._

Under the stern gaze of what had to be the world's most intimidating three year olds, Adam and Nicholas had little choice but to eat and drink the appallingly foul tasting refreshments the twins had so thoughtfully prepared for them and to at least _attempt _to maintain a friendly demeanor.

Unfortunately for them, after about three minutes of stony silence, the twins had decided that it was not enough for them to sit at the same table without insulting or attacking each other – which was quite a feat for them, by the way  - they had to, in Izzy's words 'Talk an' be nice to each other fo' once'.

In fairness, Adam was trying to cooperate with the twins' plan for harmony in Sanctuary - he had managed, employing every ounce of self restraint he possessed, to refrain from mocking Nicholas's absurd outfit and obvious discomfort.

When it came to topics of conversation, however, they were hard pressed to find a neutral topic. The only things they had in common were Shalimar and the twins and both knew better than to discuss them.

To Adam's eternal shame, he and his sworn enemy were reduced to exchanging pleasantries about the weather, the state of the economy and other such banalities.

Although they did not say anything particularly unpleasant to one another, the tension between the two men was palpable and their dislike, though not expressed in words, could be clearly seen in the poisonous glares they were exchanging. 

To the twins' dismay, their carefully thought out plan seemed to be coming to nothing.

Izzy shook her head sorrowfully. "Dey no bein' nice." She complained to her sister in an undertone, frowning at her two grandfathers.

Lexi nodded her head in agreement. "Yes." Her voice held a note of solemnity entirely unsuited to the cheeky toddler she usually was. "Dey jus' pwetendin' to be nice. Dey weally still hay each other. Tea par'y no workin'." She concluded, looking disappointed.

"So what we do?" For perhaps the first time in the three years of her short life, Isabelle Emily Fox-Mulwray was at a loss for ideas.

Lexi put her thumb in her mouth and chewed carefully while she pondered the situation. "I t'ink dey hafta do mowe t'ings t'gedder." Lexi announced decidedly. "Den dey be fwiends."

"Good idee." Izzy beamed her approval. "So w'at dey hafta do?"

After a few minutes of pondering and thumb sucking, a broad smile spread across Lexi's features. "I hab a idee."

* * *__

_Ten minutes later._**__**

It took Adam a few minutes to find his voice.

"You want us to _what_?"

From his place directly opposite him, Nicholas Fox was doing a pretty good impression of a goldfish, his eyes and his mouth wide with horror.

Lexi sighed impatiently, casting her eyes heavenward. She couldn't understand why her plan was so hard for her grandfathers to accept. _/Grown ups must be very dumb! / _"You an' Other Grandpa hafta put make up on each other an' do yo' haiw." She explained, her patience fast wearing thin. "Me an' Izzy'll do yo' nails." She threw up her hands in exasperation. "I tol' you two times alweady!"

"But . . .why?" Adam's expression was pained. 

"So you an' Other Grandpa be fwiends, 'course." Lexi explained firmly. "Mommy an' An' Emma do it an' dey fwiends."

"Can we just go back to the tea party?" Nicholas asked hopefully, finally recovering the use of his voice. "The tea party was better than this."

Adam snorted in derision. "_Anything _is better than this!" He frowned reprovingly at the twins, trying to intimidate them into abandoning their plan. "You girls aren't in charge here, Nicholas and I are the adults – you have to do what we tell you to do, not the other way around!"

"I'm with Kane . . ."

"No!" Lexi held up an imperious hand, cutting her biological grandfather off before he could continue. "He name no 'Kane'!"

"Dat wight." Izzy nodded enthusiastically, backing up her sister. "You tan tall him 'Grandpa' like Lexi an' me ow you tan tall him 'Adam' like Mommy an' Daddy an' Uncie Jess an' An' Emma. You no tall him 'Kane'."

"Is dat cwear?" Lexi asked sternly, scowling in his direction, her hands on her hips.

Nicholas gulped, rather frightened by the intensity of the two toddlers. "Crystal." He managed to squeak. He cast a half pained, half angry look in Adam's direction. "Are we really going to let them get away with this?"

"Do you really think that we have a choice in the matter?" Adam asked, feeling a slight pity for the other man, who didn't seem to know that challenging the twins was _not_ the best course of action.

"F*** this!" Nicholas shouted.

"You say bad wowd!" Lexi rebuked him.

"Mommy an' Daddy be vewy cwoss wif' you." Izzy added sagely.

Nicholas just glared at them. "I don't care!" His face was flushed with anger. "And there is no way that I am going along with this crazy scheme of yours! I can't. I won't. You can't make me!"

As one, the Fox-Mulwray sisters formed glowing blue coils of electricity in their small hands.

Lexi raised a quizzical eyebrow in her biological grandfather's direction. "Oh yeah?"

Even Nicholas knew better than to challenge the twins when they had that gleam of determination in their eyes and he and Adam allowed the girls to drag them towards Emma's room for the implementation of their new plan.

"Can I at least take off this dress?" He pleaded, hoping to be allowed that much.

"NO!"

_/Just wait! / _Nicholas thought murderously as he was led from the rec room like a lamb to the slaughter. _/I don't care how old Shalimar is! As soon as she gets home, she's going to be grounded for a month! /_

* * *__

"Try to hold still, Nicholas." Adam, to do him justice, was being very careful not to get any of the mascara in the other man's eyes. "We're nearly done."

Lexi and Izzy had already painted their fingernails and toenails – which would have been bad enough without them deciding that using one colour was 'bowing' and leaving each man with rainbow manicure – and, to add insult to injury, the two little girls were rummaging though Emma's wardrobe to find an outfit that would do justice to their new makeovers.

"OW!" Nicholas bellowed in fury as some of the mascara leaked into his eyes. "Watch what you're doing, Kane!"

"Huh-hmm." Lexi coughed meaningfully.

"Sorry . . ._Adam_." Nicholas bit out.

Izzy smiled approvingly. "Dat bettew." She looked over at her sister. "I t'ink dey nearwy fwiends now." She said brightly.

Lexi shook her head, not sharing her sister's optimistic view. "I dunno." She said doubtfully. "I t'ink dey need to do mowe stuff t'gedder."

For the first time in the almost thirty years of their acquaintance, Adam and Nicholas's thoughts were one.

_/OH, NO! /_

TBC.

There will probably be only one or two chapters left in this story unless torture inspiration strikes, so please let me know if you have any requests or suggestions for the next story and please tell me your preferences regarding the introduction of a little DeLauro-Kilmartin to the series.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **As always, 'Mutant X' and its amazing cast of characters = Not mine. Alexis and Isabelle Fox-Mulwray = Mine.

**Author's Note: **I'd like to thank goldstranger for her suggestion, which I have used at the end of this chapter.

**Author's Note II: **Regarding the proposed new addition to the Mutant X family, at the moment my plan is to marry Jesse and Emma off towards the end of the next story, with the birth of their child in the following instalment.

**Author's Note III: **To mutantjel – you must be psychic or something! Since you've already guessed it, I might as well tell you that the title of the next instalment of the series (I've got to think of a name for it, by the way) is going to be 'Chicken Pox'. Only one of the twins will be sick, though. 

Words in / / = Thoughts.

**Chapter 6.**__

_An hour later._

" . . .So, I'm afraid that we'll probably be here until tomorrow morning. It's taken us longer than expected to round up the new mutants and we have to move them to a new safehouse before we can set them up with their new IDs." Shalimar's cheerful voice announced via the comlink, shattering poor Adam's hopes of rescue. "Adam?" Her tone became concerned. "Are you still there?"

"Yes." His voice was weak.

"Do you think that you and Dad will be okay with the twins until then?"

"Yes." Adam mentally crossed his still brightly painted fingers. "We'll be fine."

"Great. We'll see you tomorrow. Bye." Shalimar broke the communication.

Adam sat for a few minutes staring at his comring, trying to assimilate the knowledge that nobody was going to come to save him from the twins' clutches.__

_/I'm doomed! /_

* * *

Much to their grandfathers' relief, the twins had consented to allow them to remove their make up and change out of Emma's clothes – Adam was dreading the psionic's reaction when she returned and saw the state of her wardrobe.

The small comfort they derived from this slight concession was quickly swallowed by their terror when Lexi and Izzy closeted themselves in their playroom to plan their next 'game'.

Seeing Lexi's teasing smirk as she walked into her room, Adam had seriously considered calling Shalimar and begging her to abandon the mission and come back to restrain her daughters.

Sadly, his sense of the greater good prevailed.

_/Those New Mutants need help more than I do. /_

* * *

"Make up didn' wowk!" Izzy complained. "Dey still no fwiends!"

"Dey pretty, though." Lexi pointed out.

"Yes." Izzy smiled at the memory of her artfully painted grandfathers. "But what we do now?"

"Well. . ." Lexi gave the question careful consideration. "Dey no be fwiends like Mommy an' An' Emma, so maybe we hafta make dem be friends like Daddy an' Uncie Jess."

"How we do dat?"

* * *

"Basketball!" Nicholas snorted in derision.

"It could be worse." Adam ventured. "Would you rather go back to do each other's hair and make up?"

"I suppose not." Nicholas said grudgingly. "So whose team am I on? Lexi's or Izzy's?"

The twins, overhearing his question, dissolved into fits of giggles.

"Silly Other Grandpa!" Lexi smiled gleefully. "Me an' Izzy one team, you an' Grandpa other team."

"Do I have to be on the same team as him?" Nicholas groaned, gesturing towards Adam.

"Yes." Izzy's firm tone brooked no argument. She and her sister exchanged a mischievous smile.

"We gonna tick yo' ass!" The twins chorused.

Neither of the men doubted them for a second.

* * *

_Twenty minutes later._

With the twins leading 'eleventeen hundwed to zewo' – never let a three year old be the scorekeeper – Adam and Nicholas were getting their asses well and truly kicked.

While neither of the men were particularly concerned with winning the game, the thought of what the twins might demand for a forfeit spurred them to make an effort to play as a team.

Unfortunately for them, the twins were not adverse to using their powers to their own advantage and, on the rare occasions when Adam or Nicholas had possession of the ball, they would suddenly feel compelled to hand it to one of the little girls who would use her feral speed to run down to the five foot tall basketball hoop installed for their use.

Any suggestion that this might be cheating was met with the derisive taunt of 'baby!'.

About ten minutes into the game, Adam scored the first point for the 'Grandpa' side and was rewarded with generous praise and a round of applause from the twins.

Flushed with his success, Adam smirked at his teammate, who was less than amused at being shown up.

Nicholas, who had never been an athletic person, was finding the game hard going and he was uncomfortably conscious of the twins' less than flattering remarks about his performance.

He wasn't paying much attention to the game and an overly enthusiastic pass from Adam caught him off guard, winding him temporarily.

"Very funny, Kane!" He growled, ignoring the twins' rule about names. 

"Sorry.' Adam was genuinely repentant. "I didn't mean to take you by surprise."

"Oh yeah?" Nicholas didn't believe him for a second. "Let's see how you like it!" he lobbed the ball forcefully in Adam's direction.

His aim was wide and the ball struck Lexi across the face.

"WAAAAAAH!" Lexi's howls echoed through Sanctuary.

Adam scooped her up and dashed to the lab with the hysterically sobbing little girl in his arms and an anxious Izzy running behind him.

Nicholas, furious with himself for the trouble his childish gesture had caused, followed the trio to the lab and arrived in time to see Adam setting Lexi down on the chair.

Lexi's pretty face was flushed and tearstained and a steady stream or blood trickled from her nose. Adam had his hands full trying to calm the three year old down so that he could treat her injury.

Izzy, distressed by the sight of her sister in pain, started crying herself.

Lexi's howls became louder as Nicholas entered the room. "Other Grandpa bad!" She wailed, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"I'm sorry." Nicholas was more upset than she was.

"Other Grandpa didn't mean to hurt you, Lexi." Adam told her soothingly, using a small hand held scanner to make sure her nose wasn't broken. "It was an accident."

Nicholas, who had not expected the other man to defend him, was stunned into silence.

"There now, sweetheart." Adam used a dermal regenerator to heal Lexi's nose. "All better."

"He were twyin' to hit you, Grandpa." Izzy scowled at Nicholas, still furious with him. "I'm gonna tell Mommy."

"It was an accident, Izzy." Adam repeated patiently. "Although I must say," His voice became hard as he addressed Nicholas. "That it is one which could have been avoided. What were you thinking? Any moron knows not to throw a basketball around like that, especially with small children nearby. We are very lucky that there was no serious damage done!"

"You started it!" Nicholas's contrition vanished in a wave of indignation. 

Adam laughed. "Only six year olds use that defense, Nicolas. I think that you're a little past that stage. At least, you should be." He amended insultingly. "I'm not too sure."

Nicholas balled his hands into fists. "You are getting on my last nerve!" He growled.

"Likewise." Adam's tone was cool.

"STOP IT!" Lexi shrieked, putting her hands over her ears. Between the residual pain of her nose and the constant strife between the two men, the little girl had run out of patience. She slid down from the examination chair and stood before them, her hands on her hips. "Me sick ob you figh'in'!" She announced, glaring at them. "Izzy sick ob you figh'in' an' Mommy sick ob you figh'in'!"

"Dat wight!" Izzy continued, backing her sister up. "We twy to pway nice game wif you so you be fwiends but it no wowk. Now, we gonna stop bein' nice!"

The look Adam and Nicholas exchanged was filled with terror.

If that had been their definition of 'nice', they did not want to know what 'nasty' was!

* * *

" . . .An' stay in!" 

Through the use of their mental domination abilities, the twins had managed to 'convince' their grandfathers that the storage closet really was a great place to be.

As soon as the two men were safely stowed within the narrow confines of the now unused room, the twins slammed the door shut and turned the key.

"Girls!" Adam, as soon as their influence had worn off, started pounding on the door. "Girls, this isn't funny! Let us out of here!"

"No!" Lexi was rather annoyed with herself for not thinking of this earlier. "We no gonna let you out 'less you talk an' be fwiends."

"The second I get out of here, I'm going to teach the pair of you a lesson you'll never forget!" Nicholas, fool that he was, didn't think before he made his empty threat.

"Otay." Lexi answered cheerfully, not troubled in the least by the threat she knew her biological grandfather would never carry out. "Den we no let you out till Mommy an' Daddy come home. C'mon, Izzy." She turned to her twin. "Let's hab some tandy 'fore we go to bed."

The rapidly fading sounds of their footsteps told the captive men that they had no hope of freedom until the other four adults returned.

"Good job, Nicholas!" Adam said sarcastically. "Now we have to stay here until Shalimar and the others get back."

Nicholas consulted his watch. "It's nearly seven o' clock now." He said, not overly troubled. "I think we can stay here until they come back. When are they due to come back, anyway?"

For once, Adam got no satisfaction from frightening the other man. They were now in the same boat.

"Tomorrow morning."

TBC.

_Isn't it great how three year olds can get away with so much more than we can? In their __defence__, Lexi and Izzy **are **only trying to help._

_Next chapter: Adam and Nicholas finally talk through their differences. Shalimar, Brennan, Emma and Jesse return to see what happens when the twins are left unsupervised for the night._


	8. Chapter 7 End

**Disclaimer: **As always, 'Mutant X' and its amazing cast of characters = Not mine. Alexis and Isabelle Fox-Mulwray = Mine.

**Author's Note: **I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed this story. I'll have the next story up as soon as I can. To all my reviewers: Sunstar2, Feline-Feral, Louise Power, canadian-chic14, mutantjel, loveconquers, AquariousF5, Laily, bri, Mari, Feisty Feline Feral, goldstranger, Dictionary, Shadowcat Pryde, mxangel, tigereyes320, K.C. and koalared.

Words in / / = Thoughts.

**Chapter 7.**__

_An hour and a half later._

Whatever slender shred of hope Adam and Nicholas had nursed that the twins would relent and release them from their captivity evaporated when the soft noises of movement ceased and the two little girls went to bed.

It would be impossible to say which of the two men was the most stubborn.

They had sat in the storage closet, glaring at each other for a full hour and a half, without saying a word, before the silence was finally broken.

"'Harmless mischief', huh?" Nicholas snorted in derision. "Are you sure you don't want to reconsider your assessment, Kane?"

"What the hell is your problem, Nicholas?" Adam flared. "You'd think that after all these years you'd have given up this stupid grudge of yours! But no! You have to blame me for absolutely everything in your life that isn't one hundred percent perfect! What do you want me to say?" he sighed softly. "We were friends once, do you remember?" He chuckled softly. "You even made me Shalimar's godfather."

"That was a long time ago." Nicholas spoke gruffly. "I thought that you had saved my daughter's life."

"She's still alive, isn't she?"

"You know what I mean – you changed my daughter!"

Adam shook his head sadly. "You're like a broken record, Nicholas. Every time we argue it always comes back to that. Be honest with yourself – do you think that Shalimar would be better off dead than as a mutant?"

Nicholas was genuinely horrified by the thought. "You know that that's not true."

"Does Shalimar?" Adam pressed. "She's the one who matters here. I was the one you were angry with but Shalimar was the one who suffered. You punished her for using her powers when she was even younger than the twins are now – Yes, she can remember that. You and Margaret taught her to think that her abilities, her gifts, were bad. You threw her into that hellish institution when she was _ten years old_! You let them . . ." Adam trailed off; his face was contorted in anger. "Do you have any idea of the damage you did? Not only physically, but mentally and emotionally! I found her on the evening of her eleventh birthday and she was slowly starving herself to death. She hadn't eaten in five days and there was barely an inch of her skin that wasn't covered in bruises! For weeks, she was so full of self-loathing that I was afraid to take my eyes off her in case she would do something to hurt herself, or worse. I was ready to kill you when I saw the state that she was in! I still have the medical records from the first time I examined Shalimar." Adam continued in an almost conversational tone. "They don't make for very pleasant reading. I wouldn't treat a serial killer the way you treated your child! Nothing Shalimar could have done would ever justify it! I don't care about your hatred off me, I hate to break it to you, but your insults don't keep me up at night. However, I can't forget how much you hurt someone I love as dearly as if she were my own child."

"She's not your child!" Nicholas's face, which had turned ashen pale during Adam's recitation of his wrongs, turned bright red with anger. "Shalimar is _my_ daughter, not _yours_!"

Adam shook his head, a pitying expression on his face. "Can you hear what you are saying?" He asked gently. "You sound like you are talking about an object, a possession, not a person. Shalimar is a human being. She doesn't _belong_ to anyone but herself! You are her father and she loves you, but you don't own her. It's time that you accepted that."

"Listen, Kane . . ."

"No, you listen!" Adam shouted, cutting off the angry defense the other man was preparing to make. "You made a lot of mistakes with Shalimar, mistakes that she is terrified of repeating with the girls – why do you think she never punishes them? Did you know that she still has nightmares about that institution you dumped her in? The twins pick up on those dream images at times; so all three of them end up upset. Do you honestly think that you can make that right overnight with a few gifts?"

"It's because of you that Shalimar and I can't make things right." Nicholas protested, albeit weakly. "You've been alienating her affections, trying to get her to love you instead of me!"

"Nicholas," Adam's voice was gentle. "After all these years, do you know so little about Shalimar as to think that she only has room in her heart for one of us. If that is the case, then you really need to get to know her better. It's not a case of you or me, she loves us both and, in all honesty, our bickering is hurting her far more than us. Do you remember what Emma said at Shalimar and Brennan's wedding?"

Nicholas smiled involuntarily at the memory of the angry psionic. "'Your stupid feud isn't important, the woman you claim to care about is'." He quoted, finally understanding the other man's meaning. He smiled at Adam, a genuine grin of comradeship. "I don't know how Shalimar has put up with us over the past few years!"

"With uncharacteristic patience." Adam smiled wryly. "I know Emma has been prepared to drag us both off in the Double Helix and drop us into the nearest ocean! You and I may never be friends," He continued in a more serious tone. "But do you think that we could call a truce, if only for Shalimar's sake? It's not fair for us to keep putting her in a position of having to choose between us?" Adam extended his hand. "Shake on it?" 

Nicholas took the proffered hand. "I don't like you, Kane . . .Adam." He amended. "But if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have my daughter. I thank you for that. I've missed out on a lot of my daughter's life. I have no intention of letting our differences interfere with our future."

* * *

_The next morning._

"Anybody home?" Brennan frowned. It was after nine o'clock in the morning. Adam was usually to be found pottering around in the lab and Lexi and Izzy usually had at least two or three pranks to their credit by now.

"Where is everybody?" Emma looked concerned. "Do you think that they've gone out, or something?"

"It's raining." Jesse pointed out, perplexed.

"Ssh." Shalimar waved a hand to silence her teammates. "There's someone in the kitchen." She told them, silently blessing her feral hearing.

"Hi Mommy!" Lexi beamed up at her mother as she entered the kitchen. "Wan' some bweakfas'?"

The two toddlers were sitting side by side at the kitchen counter, finishing off their large bowls of cereal, each sporting a milk moustache.

"We got bweakfas' by oursel'." Izzy announced proudly, helping herself to more orange juice and managing to get at least half the liquid into her glass.

"Where are your grandfathers?" Shalimar asked, perplexed.

Brennan, Emma and Jesse had followed her into the kitchen and were valiantly suppressing their laughter as they surveyed the scene.

The white marble countertop had a river of milk running through it and the floor was covered with a carpet of various cereals that crunched underfoot as the twins, avoiding the question of Adam and Nicholas's whereabouts, hopped down from their stools to give their parents a pair of messy 'welcome back' kisses.

"Girls?" Shalimar raised a suspicious eyebrow, knowing her daughters well enough not to trust their sweetly innocent expressions. "Where are your grandfathers?" 

Lexi and Izzy exchanged a sly smile.

"Dey in de cwoset." Lexi informed her mother sweetly.

"In the closet?" Jesse gave an inelegant snort of laughter. "Do you think that Adam and your dad have something to tell us, Shal?"

Ignoring him, Shalimar frowned at her daughter, fighting the urge to laugh. "And do you two have something to do with that?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Uh-huh." Lexi nodded enthusiastically. "Dey was fightin' an' me an' Izzy sick ob it an' we know you sick ob it so we twy to get dem to be fwiends an' we pway tea par'y wif dem an' we pway make up. . ."

"Just a second." Shalimar raised a hand to stop Lexi's rapid explanation. She looked over at her chortling teammates. "Did she just say that they got Adam and my dad to put on make up?" She shook her head, as if to dislodge the picture. "Well, that's one image I could have done without! I'm never going to get that picture out of my head!" She turned her attention back to her daughter. "Carry on, Lexi."

Lexi grinned, not at all opposed to the idea of sharing the details of her brilliance. "Make up no wowk so we pway bassetball wif dem but dat no wowk so we lock dem in closet 'till dey be fwiends."

Shalimar groaned, rubbing her temples to rid herself of the migraine that was fast forming. "My father is going to disown me!" 

"When did you do this?" Brennan asked fearfully.

"Las' night.' The twins chorused cheerfully.

Shalimar looked up at her teammates, a horrified expression on her pretty face. "They're going to kill us!"

* * *

_Five minutes later._

After a game of 'Rock, Scissors, Paper' to decide which unfortunate soul would have to open the door to the closet and bear the brunt of the angry captives' tirades, Shalimar, the not so lucky winner, edged forward, half-afraid of finding one of her father-figures dead and the other insane with rage.

_/Maybe I could slip the bolt back quickly and run. / _She mused inwardly, wondering why it was that she could take down a dozen GSA agents without breaking a sweat, yet the thought Adam and her father in a temper left her trembling.

Taking a deep breath, she slid the bolt back and pushed the door open a crack.

" . . .And this was taken during Shalimar's thirteenth birthday party, just a few days before Jesse joined us. You can't see him, but Michael was making faces behind me so the poor child could barely keep a straight face. And this . . ." Adam and her father, poring over an old photo album she had once pleaded with Adam to destroy, had not even noticed that the door was open. "This was taken about a year later, before we went to the Father-Daughter dance at Shalimar's school."

"She looks positively angelic." Nicholas murmured softly.

Adam laughed. "Don't let the innocent expression fool you! I remember there was a time when she was twelve that she . . ."

"Adam!" Shalimar interrupted, her cheeks growing warm. "You swore you'd never tell!"

"Shalimar." Adam looked up with a smile. "I did, didn't I? I trust that your mission went well."

"It did. Adam, Dad, I'm sorry about the girls . . ."

"You should be." Her father told her severely. "Those little monkeys put us both through hell!"

"Serve you wight!" Lexi piped up from her hiding place behind her father's leg, sticking out her tongue.

"They meant well." Shalimar ventured.

"An' you fwiends now, wight." Izzy smiled hopefully.

"Maybe not friends," Adam answered honestly. "But we're going to be civil to one another."

"Thank goodness!" Emma exclaimed feelingly.

Nicholas surprised his daughter by pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, baby, for everything." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you." 

Shalimar said nothing, just wrapped her arms around father and hugged him back.

"See." Lexi looked delighted with herself. "Me an' Izzy did good t'ing!"

"Good?" Nicholas released his daughter and glared down at the little girl. "You call this good? I could strangle you girls for everything you put us through! You tormented us all day! You locked us in here overnight! You dressed me up as a woman." Shalimar couldn't help laughing. Nicholas paused in his tirade to glare at her. "Do you think that this is funny, young lady?"

Shalimar tried to look serious but failed miserably. "Yes.' She confessed, dissolving into giggles.

Her three teammates mirrored her example.

Nicholas, ignoring them, continued to scold the twins, who were unaffected by his reproof. "You turned the kitchen upside down. You stole my wallet. I hope that you're both sorry for all the trouble you've caused!"

"Not weally.' Lexi answered honestly. 

"But we won' do it adain." Izzy added hastily, wanting to pacify him.

"'Less we hafta." Lexi finished happily.

Try as he might to maintain his righteous indignation, Nicholas was completely disarmed by the twins' angelic smiles.

"Oh, I can't stay mad at you two." He ruffled the hair of the three year old closest to him.

"Hey!" Shalimar protested. "How come that trick never worked for me?"

"I can't believe that they took your wallet!" Brennan chortled. "They're starting young!" 

"Did they flush it down the toilet?" Shalimar asked curiously, her grievance forgotten. "I remember doing that when I was small."

"Good idee, Mommy!" Lexi, as swiftly as a wraith, slipped her nimble fingers into her grandfather's pocket and extracted his wallet, tearing off in the direction of the nearest bathroom.

Before any of them had assimilated what had happened, the sound of a toilet flushing and Lexi's gleeful 'Bye-bye walle'!' reached their astonished ears.

"SHALIMAR!" 

"What did I do?" Shalimar gave her father an indignant look.

Adam chuckled. "I'll say one thing for the girls – they'll never let us be bored!"

"Yeah." Brennan slipped an arm around Shalimar's shoulders and kissed her gently. "They learned from the master!"

THE END.

I'm kind of busy at the moment but I'll get started on the next story as soon as possible. Thanks again for the reviews.


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